Sleeping garment



NOV. 27, 1934. 1 G, F, s w 1,982,579

SLEEPING GARMENT Filed Oct. 31, 1935 Jzwzi? 31 K? m 1 V YMQ AM Patented Nov. 27, 1934 SLEEPING GARMENT George F. Earnshaw, Newton,

Mass, assignor to Earnshaw Knitting Company, Newton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 31,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to sleeping garments for infants and children more commonly known as sleepers.

This type of garment is generally in the form of aunion suit provided withsleeves and having the'legs provided with integral sock portions for the feet. In the use of these garments, it .sometimes happens that a child will draw its feet out of the sock portions into the: leg portions and when the legs are straightened out the heels are apt to tear the leg or ankle portions. This happens more frequently when the garment is loose or the leg portions are too .long.

One of the important objects of the. invention is the provision of means in a sleeper for preventing the feetof the wearer from being withdrawn from the sock portions irrespective of the fit of the garment.

Another object is the provision of simple means of the foregoing character which will not cause any discomfort to. the wearer.

Other objects of the invention will be more specifically described. hereinafter.

In its preferred form, my invention contemplates the provision in a sleeper of ankleportions of knitted fabric having a plurality of strands of elastic yarn for exerting a light tension around the ankles of the wearer sufiicient to'prevent the feet from being withdrawn from. the sock portions but not sufiioient to cause pressure or discomfort.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a front view of one type of sleeper having elastic ankle portions constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same and Fig. 3 is a View in perspective on an enlarged scale of the elastic ankle portion for preventing withdrawal of a foot from the sock portion of the garment.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown one type of sleeper having elastic ankle portions made in accordance with my invention. The sleeper shown comprises a double breasted body portion indicated generally as 10, having a neck opening 12, a pair of sleeve portions 14 and a pair of leg portions 16, each terminating in a sock portion 18 with an elastic ankle portion 20. The garment is preferably made of knitted textile material.

The body portion 10 of the garment consists of a front part and a back part, the upper portion of the former part comprising two triangular flaps 22 and 24 in overlapping relation and the lower portion a single trunk piece 26 extending from the waist line to the ankles. The two flaps 1933, Serial No. 695,976 (01. 2-83) are secured at their lower-edges to the upper edge of the piece 26 at the waistline by a seam28. The two sides of the trunk piece 26 are extended around the back of the garment and their. free edges are secured by seams 30 and32 to the front portion of said piece to form the leg portions .16.

The back part of the body portion comprises an upper portion made up of two sections34 and 36 and a lower portion in the form of a drop seat 38. The two sections 34 and 36 are stitched together down the center of the back by a seam 4.6 and at the sides of the garment to the flaps 22 and 24 by seams 42 and 44 respectively. These two sections extend below the waist line and the top of the drop seat and the bottom of thispart is cut on a' curved line 46. a r

The two flaps 22 and 24 and the two back sections 34 and 36 are cut out at their ,tops'to form the neck opening 12 and the edge of that opening is finished in any suitable manner, :as, for instance, by a binding 460i knitted material folded longitudinally to form a double thickness with an outer folded edge. The wales of the binding run longitudinally thereof so that it is non-stretchable in that direction. At its free edges the binding is secured to the cut out edges of the flaps and back sections by non-elastic stitching 50. This binding is continued down the edges of the twoflaps to the seam 2 8. For fastening the two flaps together at the neck opening, the inner flap 24 may be provided with a button 52 and the outer flap 22 with a buttonhole 54. 1

; The sleeves 14 are of shapedtubular form made by folding the material longitudinally and stitching the longitudinal edges together by stitching 56. The flaps 22 and 24 and the back sections 34 and 36 are cut on straight oblique lines from the neck opening to the side and the sleeves are secured to these parts by seams 58 and 60, so that the upper ends of the sleeves form the shoulder portions of the garment.

The garment is shown as provided with a drop seat 38 of novel construction which, however, is the subject of another application for United States Letters Patent No. 695,977 of even date herewith and is not claimed herein. The drop seat is shown as made up of three sections, a central section designated as 38 and two side sections 62 and 64 joined to the two sides of the central section by seams 66 and 68 respectively. The central section 38 is extended downwardly between the leg portions and upwardly a short distance on the front of the garment to form a crotch portion being stitched to the front piece 26 by a seam 70. The two side sections 62 and 64 are stitched at their outer and lower edges by seams 72 and 74 respectively to the back portions of the legs 16 and these seams extend from the crotch portion to the side seams 42 and 44 on slightly curved lines. The central section 38 is of sufficient width to give the necessary fullness in the crotch portion.

The upper portion of the drop seat is of diminishing width in an upward direction so that its top edge is relatively narrow, the upper side edges of the drop seat being oblique to the sides of the garment. These edges are connected to the sides of the garment by a pair of gussets '76 of elastic material, one edge of which may be fastened to the sides by the seams 42 and 44 respectively and the other edge to the drop seat by stitching '78. The gussets are knitted from suitable textile yarn and composite rubber yarn, the latter comprising a core of rubber or latex with a textile fibre yarn covering in two layers wound helically about the core in opposite directions. The composite rubber yarn is knitted in the fabric of the gussets to form strands spaced at intervals and parallel with the upper edges 82 of the gussets so that they are stretchable in a direction parallel to their upper edges.

. Preferably, the gussets are arranged with their upper edges 82 inclined upwardly toward the sides of the garment to exert an upward pull on the drop seat to hold it in a closed position when on the wearer. The use of composite rubber yarn of the character described produces a light ten sion which does not cause discomfort to the wearer.

In order to prevent the feet being withdrawn from the sock portions 18 of the garment, I provide each leg with an ankle portion 20 adapted to fit under a light tension the ankle of the wearer. Preferably, the ankle portion 20 is in the form of a cylindrical cuif knitted from suitable textile fibre yarn and composite rubber yarn of the character hereinbefore described. The rubber yarn is knitted in the fabric to form parallel annular strands 84 spaced apart at suitable intervals. Each ankle portion may be formed from sheet knitted material by joining two edges thereof by a seam 86 to form a cylinder which is interposed between the bottom of a leg portion 16 and the top of a sock portion 18 and secured thereto by seams 88 and 90 respectively. Since the angle portions fit the ankles of the wearer under a light tension, the withdrawal of the feet from the sock portions of the garment is effectually prevented,

and thereby any tearing of the ankle portions of the garment due to this cause is eliminated.

Although I have shown my invention embodied in a sleeper of the double breasted type, it is to be understood that its application is not to be limited to sleepers of that particular form for it is susceptible of use in various other forms of sleepers having leg portions provided with sock portions.

It is also to be understood that my invention is not to be confined to the exact form of angle portion herein shown and described since it may be embodied in other forms within the purview of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion of knitted textile fabric provided with leg portions terminating in sock portions, said leg portions each having an ankle portion of tubular form made of knitted fabric containing a series of spaced parallel annular strands of composite rubber yarn adapted to cause said ankle portion to fit the ankle of the wearer under a light tension sufficient to prevent the foot from being withdrawn from the sock portion but not sufficient to cause the wearer any discomfort.

2. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion having arm, leg and sock portions and an ankle portion intermediate the lower end of each leg portion and sock portion, said ankle portion being of tubular formation and being knitted of fiber yarn with spaced strands of composite rubber yarn of light tension, said composite rubber strands imparting a light tension to said ankle portion sufficient to prevent the foot from being withdrawn from the sock yet not sufficient to cause discomfort in the wearer.

3. A garment of the character described comprising a body portion provided with sleeves and leg and sock portions of knitted textile fabric, said leg portions each having an ankle portion of cylindrical form made of knitted fabric and containing a series of spaced parallel strands in annular form, each of said strands comprising a rubber or latex core with a textile fiber yarn covering in two layers wound helically about the core in opposite directions to produce an elastic yarn having a very light tension. said ankle portions being adapted to fit the ankle of the wearer loosely and having a tension sufficient to prevent the foot from being withdrawn from the sock portion but not sufficient to cause discomfort.

GEORGE F. EARNSHAW. 

